I don’t know.
Except for 104 I haven’t played any other Sam & Max episode so far.
But I thought it was a very good one, even in comparison to the old LucasArts classics.
It was well and thoughtfully designed, but don’t expect anything new or groundbreaking. The new Sam & Max episodes don’t introduce new gameplay mechanics or come with a bag full innovations, but nevertheless, they are fun.

I played Hit the Road recently again and indeed, the new Sam & Max has probably a different sense of humor and weirdness than the first adventure of the Freelance Police.

I’ve never really got the hang of these point and click adventure/puzzle games. I think I got about a quarter of the way through Grim Fandango before having to resort to a cheat sheet the rest of the way through. I just don’t have the patience for spending half an hour clicking through loads of items and options to figure out some obscure and often illogical puzzle.

One of season 2’s welcome innovations is an in-game hint system that doesn’t feel out of place at all. If you’re wandering around stuck, Max or another character may make an off the cuff comment that points in the right direction…but it’ll also be a perfectly appropriate in character comment for the situation. (not that this always unstuck me, but it’s neat anyway.)

I dont think I ever completed a point&click adventure without at least once consulting the walkthrough. Still if the storyline is compelling and the characters rich I manage to enjoy it, although I am in fact not really involved in solving it.

This was a great episode, except for the last puzzle. I had to consult the walkthrough (which is helpfully provided on the telltalegames site!).. And I’m glad that I did it sooner rather than later. The solution was so ridiculous, there’s no way I’d have gotten it. A little disappointing there, but as I said, otherwise a great episode. Especially if you’ve played the previous episodes – they tie up the time travelling stuff, which although predictable (:P) is kinda neat and fun.